Best Nutrition Books For Better Health

These Nutrition Books Will Help You Get Healthy (And Ripped)

Do you remember books? You know, those rectangle-shaped things made up of paper and ink that are sitting on your shelves? You might be partial to them or prefer their modern e-reader equivalent. In either case, if you’re looking to make big lifestyle improvements, you will want to check out my list of the top nutrition books to take back control of your health and wellness.

I’ve narrowed down a top ten that covers all the nutrition issues and trends you need to be aware of. If you are neglecting your diet, you are taking serious steps backwards in your fitness and health journey. The more information you arm yourself with, the better equipped you will be to make the best nutrition decisions as possible on a daily basis.

Read just one of the books below and you will have a better understanding of the impact nutrition has on your health. Read all of them and you might end up having as knowledge as a lot of doctors and health and fitness experts.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price

Weston Price can be considered the Charles Darwin of the nutrition world, with his book being the equivalent of On the Origin of Species. Price was a dentist in the 1930s. He noticed the oral health of his patients' children was in a huge decline compared to the oral health of their parents. With the recent surge of manufactured and processed foods on the market, he wondered if the children's diet might have something to do with it.

This lead Price on a 10-year journey around the globe to observe tribal cultures and societies. He witnessed their incredible levels of health and wellness and correlated it with their natural diets. When Western foods started being introduced into these societies, the health of their inhabitants began to deteriorate.

This is an amazing story and adventure, especially considering these events took place in the 1930s. when air travel — and travel in general — was extremely difficult.The books sets the stage for a lot of our modern nutrition practices and contains insights you can still apply to your diet today.

Protein Power by Michael R. Eades

Bantam

You probably have heard a lot about low-carb, high-protein diets and you might not be sure if they are beneficial.

In Protein Power, you gain a better understanding of the way our body functions well on a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates. You learn how focusing on protein intake can help control cravings and have a positive effect on lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. A heavy emphasis on carbs can have a negative impact on your hormones. Consuming protein can help stabilize your hormonal levels and improve — or reverse — conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf

Victory Belt Publishing

You've heard about the Paleo diet. You might even have tried it. This book gives you the real breakdown of what the Paleo diet looks like and why it can be so beneficial.

Loren Cordain, who helped the Paleo movement become popular with his book The Paleo Diet, was involved in the making of this book. The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet takes things to the next level.The book sheds light on the very positive effects eating a Paleo diet can have on your body, including weight loss, better energy, reduced inflammation and the prevention of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Wheat Belly by William Davis

Rodale Books

This is another must-read if you want to get up to speed with the gluten issue and understand what is the real deal with wheat.

This book addresses the issues that are being caused by our consumption of wheat. You will learn that all wheat is not created equal and the wheat and grains we are eating today are completely different from the wheat and grains of the past. You will learn how gluten really acts in the body and the drug-like effects wheat can have on the brain. You honestly might not touch the stuff again after reading this.

Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

Rodale Books

This is not necessarily a nutrition book, but you will learn that if you neglect your sleep you can pretty much kiss that good diet and exercise routine goodbye.

Stevenson calls sleep a “force multiplier” that enhances positive or negative effects in your body. If you have poor sleep habits, you can expect your health to suffer. On the other hand, focusing on getting quality rest will enhance all other areas of your life. We live in a sleep-deprived, high-stress society and it might be slowly killing us. The sooner you take control of your sleep, the better your health will be. The book gives tons of concrete tips and tricks to achieve that.

The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor

Harper Wave

If you thought all calories were created equal, it’s time for a wake-up call. If you also think you can track your calories and balance them with the amount of calories you burn, you’re in for another wake-up call.

In this book, you will get a better understanding of the fact our bodies are not calculators but biological organisms that don’t follow so-called “calorie math”. This is more about learning to focus on calorie quality. It also explains that your body has a natural set point to maintain its weight — as long you choose the right types of food. It is when you introduce crappy starches, sugar, trans fats and “facsimile foods” to your diet that you throw your whole system out of whack. You will learn how eating more of the right kinds of foods, and actually exercising less, is a more ideal weight loss and health approach.

Death By Food Pyramid by Denise Minger

If you have ever wondered where nutritional guidelines come from, you might want to learn all about the shadiness and corruption that goes behind the making of official food recommendations.

In this book, you will learn how concepts like the food pyramid cater to the interests of corporations and lobbyists. With a huge amount of research and references to back this information up, this book might really piss you off. But it will remind you that ignorance is not bliss.

Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About it by Gary Taubes

Anchor

This book will help you gain more insights into the “calories-in, calories-out” model and why it might actually be harmful to your health.

The author focuses on official dietary recommendations — especially when it comes to grains and carbohydrates — and the reason obesity levels have gotten out of control. And despite the recommendations of the American Heart Association, heart disease rates have not decreased either. Maybe our bodies are just not meant to functional optimally with the amount of carbs and grains we’ve been instructed to eat.

Brain Maker by David Perlmutter

Little, Brown and Company

If you want to be healthy, you need to keep your gut healthy. As we learn more about the human microbiome and the importance of gut health, we are realizing that your gut has an impact on the health of your brain. In fact, your gut can be considered your second brain. This book will teach you how to eat to promote optimal gut health.

The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker

Simon & Schuster;

This is the best book I read in the past year — and it may be my favorite nutrition book ever.

The Dorito Effect is all about artificial flavors and how their creation has lead our senses to be hijacked and caused to desire foods we don’t need. If you look at unhealthy ingredients such as refined flour or trans fats in their pure form, there contain nothing that would make them enjoyable to taste. However, we become addicted to these foods once artificial flavors are added. In other words, flavor science is dictating your cravings. This book is like The Da Vinci Code — it is a memorable page-turner.